Every Dog Has It's Day
by do-U-know-where-your-towel-is
Summary: Remus hears an explosion from the other side of the train.  Two disheveled kids run into his compartment. Life would never be the same again.  The Marauder's first year at Hogwarts.  J/L , and maybe R/S if I feel like it.  Reviews make me happy.
1. BOOM

BOOM.

"Aaaaaugh!" Remus heard a strangled yell from the other side of the train carriage. He looked up from his copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ and gaped as two disheveled figures burst into his compartment and slammed the door shut behind them. They were covered in soot and very out-of-breath.

"That bastard singed off my eyebrow!" Said a tall, bony boy with hair that would made David Bowie jealous.

"They'll find us any second now!" said the other, a bespectacled boy holding a tattered rucksack.

"What's going on?" Remus asked them, wondering if he should fear for his life.

"You!" said the boy with glasses, pointing at Remus suddenly. Remus backed up a little, affronted. "We were never here! You saw nothing!"

Then he dove into his backpack and pulled out what looked like a purple, lacy blanket.

"Sirius, quick, climb into the luggage rack!" The boy with glasses said rapidly.

Remus watched, amazed, as the two of them curled in the luggage rack and promptly vanished into thin air.

"Gaaah... What?" Remus stuttered.

"Quiet! Act normal!" Said the luggage rack. Or, more accurately, the two invisible kids on it.

With barely time for him to think, the compartment door burst open once more. This time, two older kids appeared. One was a boy with long, flowing golden hair. The other was a woman who, quite frankly, reminded Remus of a banshee. Who was having a _reeeally _bad hair day.

"Where are they?" Screeched the woman. "I saw them come in here!"

"They're not here, Bellatrix. Let's try the next carriage." said the other.

Remus looked from one to the other. Their air was, quite frankly, dangerous. He wondered to himself, briefly, if he shouldn't just rat out the stowaways behind his trunk. After all, he didn't want to get on the bad side of the crazy-looking witch. Yes, it was the logical thing to do.

"Don't question me, Lucius!" Bellatrix snarled, pointing her wand at her friend's face. Lucius held up his hands, backing away a little.

Bellatrix turned her wand to Remus. "You know where they are..." She growled, stalking closer to him. "Answer me, you hair-brained twit!"

Remus's eyes widened and his heart hardened. To hell with logic. This girl was gonna get it.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Remus replied silkily.

Bellatrix took him by the tie and shoved him into the window. Remus's head cracked against the glass. He gasped, winded. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to look at the intense, unhinged eyes in front of him. He felt violated.

"You don't know what you're messing with." Bellatrix whispered in his ear. Remus grimaced. Her breath smelled horrid.

"I've seen nothing." Remus choked out.

Bellatrix let him go and staggered backwards. She seemed to be strangling the air and was breathing like she had run a marathon.

Okay, so she had a few screws loose. Nothing he couldn't deal with.

"Grrrrr!" She screeched, diving into the hallway and pulling a rotund, very frightened-looking little boy into the compartment. Remus realized what she was doing a second before she said it.

"Show me where they are, or fatso gets it!" She hissed with her wand pressed to the boy's temple. The boy squeaked like a mouse and started to tremble.

_Don't look at the luggage rack... Don't look at the luggage rack..._ Remus chanted inwardly.

Too late.

"Ahaa!" she cried triumphantly and stood on the seat to feel about in the luggage rack.

Thinking quicker than he ever had in his life, Remus, behind his back, pointed his wand at his trunk, which was lying beside the two hiding children. The trunk burst open, flinging clothes, toiletries and books all over the compartment.

Bellatrix screamed, dancing about like the lunatic she was as she evaded flying pyjamas. Lucius yelped as he was hit in the head by _A History of Magic_, which, by the way, is a very heavy book indeed. Remus, cool as you please, apologized profusely about how full his trunk had been and oh my lord this train ride _was_ bumpy, and that Lucius really should see the nurse about that bruise. While the two of them were still wondering what on earth had happened, Remus had shoved them out the door and locked it behind them.

He pressed his ear to the door and waited until the footsteps faded away, before he heaved a sigh of relief. He slumped against the door and sat heavily on the floor.

"They're gone." he called out the refugees above his head.

The next thirty seconds were filled with hysterical, breathless laughter as the two boys fell out of the luggage rack and onto the seats. They slapped each other on their backs and pulled Remus in for a hug. The stout little first-year, who had a look on his face reminiscent of a deer standing in front of an eighteen wheeler on a freeway, curled up on a seat and whimpered.

"That was brilliant!" Said Sirius, "You really put one on her, mate."

"That'll do." Remus chastised him, pushing them off. "I feel I'm owed an explanation."

The two boys looked a little guilty.

"Well, the psychotic bitch, see, is my cousin, Bellatrix." Sirius started off, "And Lucius is her friend. They're all in the wrong crowd, you know, obsessed with the whole pure-blood thing. Since I'm a relative, they kind of expect me to think the same way, you see."

"They tried to ambush him on the train." the other boy went on, "Convert him and all. They didn't like how he was hanging with me."

"James and I met on the platform." Sirius clarified.

"So, when they tried to get Sirius to sit with them, I told them all they were a mindless bunch of snivelling warthogs." James finished, gesturing proudly.

Remus gaped.

"Are you both really that stupid?" he snapped, "That lot is dangerous!"

"Oh, come on, they wouldn't hurt me." Sirius sniffed haughtily.

Remus huffed and shook his head sadly.

"You're lucky you ran into my compartment, you are." he sighed, pulling out a bottle of dittany from the wreckage that was his belongings strewn about on the seats. He smeared it on Sirius's eyebrow and on a scratch on James's cheek.

"So what's your name?" James asked.

"Remus Lupin." He replied absent-mindedly as he began to tidy up his things.

"Well, Remus Lupin," James went on, "I believe we are in your debt."

"Don't hold me to it. That lot deserves it." Remus remarked.

"Damn straight." Sirius grumbled, having found a package of chocolate frogs in Remus's bag and was helping himself.

James noticed the fourth person in the room and gently pushed his shoulder. "Hey, you all right?"

The little boy nodded weakly.

"What's your name?" Remus asked him as he charmed his books into a pile.

"P-Peter."

"Sorry you had to get involved in that." James said.

"It's all right." Peter replied, his voice still shaking like jello on a washing machine.

"Have a sweet." Sirius offered. Peter stuffed the chocolate into his mouth faster than Remus would've thought possible. James and Sirius stared at him openly.

Remus felt like he should break the awkward silence that had fallen over the four of them. "So James," He said, folding his trousers, "How did you come across an invisibility cloak?"

James went a little red and laughed nervously. "Yeah, about that... I'd appreciate it if you all didn't tell anyone. It's kind of special to me."

"Don't worry about it, I know how to keep mum." Sirius assured him.

"Like you said, I saw nothing." Remus grinned, feeling... What was the word? Mischievous.

And that was how the Marauders came to be.


	2. The One Where Remus Needs Chocolate

**AN/: Next update coming on Friday. Thanks to all those people who reviewed me, it really means a lot to me. Got any funny situations you want the Marauders to go through? Tell me in a review or PM and I'll see if it fits in the story. I always love new ideas. :) Enjoy!  
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Oh my God. Kill. Me. Now.

History of Magic.

Professor Binns had a voice like a white noise machine. Completely atonal. Seriously, how did he not drive himself crazy with his own boring-ness? His vocal cords should be illegal.

Remus forced himself to take notes. How he did, he would never know. But there he was, jotting down bits of information on how some trolls migrated from Bulgaria eight hundred years ago. Seriously, who cares about stuff like that?

He watched Binns sway dangerously on the podium, his white hair barely clinging to his shiny head. It looked as though a breath of wind could knock him over and he would never get back up again. And yet, he trudged onward in his useless, suicidally dull speech.

Remus looked in the row in front of him and watched James doodle all over his parchment. He was drawing a deer.

"That's really good." Remus admired.

"Thanks." James muttered, drawing an intricate full moon above the stag's head.

Remus gulped. Was it hot in here? Yes, it did just get hotter in here. Hot hot hot.

"All right, Rem?" Peter asked from behind. Remus twitched. Peter must've noticed how he was sweating like a hot summer's day.

"Never better." He replied curtly, hoping the subject would be dropped.

"You sure?" Sirius asked, turning in his chair, "You look like you just saw your worst nightmare or something."

_You don't say_.

"Must've been the strawberries on the pancakes. Never did well with strawberries." Remus babbled.

"Geez, you'd think you'd've known better than to eat 'em, then." James chastised.

Remus coughed. "Yeah, you'd think I would've." Peter started fanning Remus briskly with his parchment.

And the bell rang. Remus jumped up like someone had stuck him with a hot poker. James folded his picture neatly and draped an arm around Sirius's shoulders.

"Here's to the next class not sucking the way that one just did." He chuckled as the four of them walked out the door.

"Here here." Peter piped up, bringing up the rear.

Their next class, turns out, was Transfiguration.

Oh, bugger.

"Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall began, walking tall through the rows of desks, "Is a fine art. A temperamental, dangerous art. It is not forgiving. If you wish to excel at Transfiguration, then you must give it your undivided attention. I am warning each and every one of you now. Any tomfoolery in my classroom with not be tolerated."

Remus heard James and Sirius whispering to each other to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw James lift his wand and point it at the back of McGonagall's cape.

Acting swiftly, Remus swiped at him and pinned his wand to the table.

"What're you doing?" he hissed at him.

"Having a bit of fun, look."

Remus looked, and he almost gagged.

There was a gaping hole in the back of McGonagall's robes. And she was completely oblivious.

"Are you crazy?" Remus chastised, swatting the back of James's head. "You'll get us expelled!"

"Oooh, look at those little cupids on her panties." Sirius giggled.

"If the students in the back row would be most kind as to _shut their mouths_." McGonagall barked at them, still blissfully in the dark as to her... ehm... problem. "Then we shall continue on to the first task. If each student would please take a match from my desk, then you may begin changing it into a needle."

By now, all the students in the classroom had realized their professor was prancing about with her underwear in full sight. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Some students were holding back laughter. Others averted their eyes shamefully. A few of them were oogling. They all noticed, but nobody wanted to be the one to break the news to the dangerous-looking professor.

McGonagall looked at them expectantly.

"Well, buck up, we don't have all day." She said curtly, sitting down at the desk and pushing the box of matches forward.

Somewhat erratically, the students stood and shuffled towards the desk and gingerly removed matches from the box. James and Sirius, Remus noticed, both had excellent poker faces. Peter, on the other hand, was redder than a tomato and was staring at his feet.

By the end of the lesson, Remus had a perfect sewing needle lying on his desk. James's needle had melted into a puddle. Sirius's match had caught fire (big surprise there). Peter's hadn't changed at all. McGonagal marched proudly up and down the aisles, her knickers on display for all to see. Remus gulped and blushed a little when she came to observe his progress.

"Your name?" She asked Remus as she picked up the needle and turned it over in her hand.

"Remus Lupin." He coughed awkwardly.

"Very nicely done. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Despite himself, Remus felt very proud. He smiled at James who was poking the silvery mess with his wand.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Bloody stupid class, this is." James growled bitterly.

Sirius gaped at Remus's needle. "How did you do that?"

"You were holding your wand wrong." Remus remarked, taking Peter's match and giving it to Sirius. Remus took Sirius's hand and his friend started a little. Remus moved it so it was grasping the wand correctly. Sirius muttered the incantation. The match turned silver, but conspicuously lacked a point. Sirius cursed rather loudly.

"Language, Mr. Black! Five points from Gryffindor."

James, thoroughly bored, decided to shake things up a little. He raised his hand.

McGonagall stared at him sharply. Little warning lights flashed in Remus's head. Danger. Danger.

"Yes, Mister..."

"Potter. James Potter."

"What is it, Mister Potter?"

"I can see through your robes."

There was a silence so heavy most boulders would be jealous.

"I beg your pardon?" McGonagal barked.

"Your robes have a hole in them, look." Frank Longbottom added helpfully and pointed.

McGonagall did look. She turned a deep, tomato red and mended the hole swiftly with a flick of her wand. Apparently, she still hadn't realized it was James himself who had pulled the charm.

"Ahhh...hem. Thank you Mister Potter, though in the future I would appreciate a more discreet method telling me." she quipped, ever the professional.

"In the future?" Sirius laughed, "You plan on making that a regular occurrence? Because as lovely as that would be, I think it would be better if you weren't wearing old lady underpants."

McGonagall glared daggers. Sirius. Was. DEAD.

"Detention, Mr. Black! And twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"Worth it." Sirius whispered to Remus under his breath when McGonagall had turned to the rest of the class.

"If I ever find out who did this," she began, "Then I shall personally see to it that whoever it is is expelled immediately."

She surveyed the classroom for a long, tense second, before returning to her paperwork.

Remus hung his head in his hands. He needed chocolate.

***Scene Change***

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were charging down the corridor, five minutes late for Potions and thoroughly lost. Needless to say, tempers were running high.

"We're on the fifth floor!" Sirius barked, rounding a corner at lightning speed and skidding into a suit of armor with a clatter. The suit of armor, unhappy with being disturbed, cuffed Sirius on the ear and sent him on his way

"No, this is the third floor, we just passed that tapestry of Urgus the Unhinged, remember?" James called out. He ran for a staircase but backpedaled furiously when it started to move right in front of him.

"Fifth floor!" Sirius snapped, rubbing his ear.

"Third floor!" James pushed him lightly. Sirius pushed back, harder.

"Fifth floor!"

"Third floor!"

Sirius shoved James bodily and he was rammed into a tapestry. To their great surprise, James fell through the tapestry and disappeared with a cry.

Oops.

"JAAAMES!" Sirius yelled hysterically, clutching at the tapestry's fringe, "I killed him!"

"No, you dunce, I'm all right." James's voice sounded as though it were coming through a tunnel. "There's a staircase behind here."

"Where do you think this goes?" Remus asked, peering behind the cloth.

"I think my cousin told me about this once." Said Peter, going in after James, "We're on the third floor right? This leads to the dungeons." Peter slipped behind the rug.

"Is this the same cousin who put doxie droppings in your breakfast?" Remus asked warily.

"No time to chat." Sirius said, diving after Peter and taking Remus by the wrist and heaving him into the shaft. Remus gagged a little as the scent of stagnant air and things that had been dead for a very long time hit him. Sirius had lit up the tip of his wand and was pulling him along, firmly dragging him down the stairs. Up ahead, he could see Peter and James leading the way into the black nothing. It surprised Remus how dark it was. How very, very dark.

"If this is the wrong way, I'm going to kill you Pete." He called out.

"Not a fan of dark tunnels are you?" Sirius joked lightly.

No, he wasn't. He most definitely wasn't.

"I found something!" Peter, who was now in the lead, called out to his friends.

They pooled at the bottom of the staircase. Blocking any further progress was an infuriatingly solid brick wall.

James cursed.

"Now we have to go back up!" he groaned. "Nice going, Pete."

Peter hung his head like a kicked puppy.

Remus, feeling like they were missing something, pressed his body against the cold rock experimentally. Taking his hand out of Sirius's, he started rubbing the bricks, one by one.

Sirius coughed, looking a little flustered. "Hem... Remus... Why're you molesting that wall?"

Remus snorted. "Shush, I'm figuring out how to get through."

He took out his wand and started tapping the bricks one by one. James groaned.

"This could take forever!"

"Then help me!"

They stood there for at least three minutes, until every last brick had been tapped, rubbed on, talked to and tickled. Remus scratched his head. Peculiar, peculiar.

"Maybe there's a password." he suggested.

"Uuugh, to hell with this!" James roared, kicking the wall furiously.

The floor beneath them shifted.

Oh S***.

They fell right through the ground.

"Aaaaaaah!" They chorused.

Remus had the breath taken right out of him as Sirius landed on his chest like a sack of potatoes. James, screaming like a little girl, landed on top of Sirius. Peter, in turn, landed on James. Remus whirred and coughed, trying to wiggle out from underneath the dog-pile.

"Mmmphrrrrnnn." he admonished.

"I think I broke my ass." Peter moaned, falling off of James's head.

"What just happened?" Sirius slurred his speech, rolling off of Remus and curling like a hedgehog on the ground.

"Apparently, 'To hell with this' was the password." Remus suggested after his lungs started working again.

"Bloody stupid password." James muttered, turning his head to the side a little. His neck creaked dangerously.

Remus looked up and saw the hole in the ceiling that had enabled their rather violent entry to the dungeons. It was closing rapidly. He sat up and rubbed his sore ribs.

"Potions Class." He reminded his friends.

James cursed again. He jumped up, fell over and stood up again. He got his bearings quickly.

"This way!" He ran to his left, shoes pounding. The four of them burst into the Potions classroom, dusty, sweaty and very out-of-breath.

Professor Slughorn stared at them for a moment in surprise.

"Ah, there you four are, I was beginning to think you weren't coming. Lost weren't you? Yes, that happens all the time to first years. I won't take any points off, it happened to me my first day too. Go on, take your seats. The instructions are on the board."

Remus felt fingers moving in his hair. He turned around quickly and saw Sirius looking funny.

"Spiderweb on your head." he mumbled, holding out the wispy cobweb.

They all sat down together and pulled the supplies out of their bags.

James swore lightly as a dried lizard eyeball he was holding slipped out of his hand and rolled into the row in front of him. A delicate-looking red-haired girl bent down and picked it up for him. As she turned around to look at James, time itself seemed to stop and stare.

"Did you drop this?" she asked, holding out the eye.

Boom. Fireworks.

James gaped like a beached catfish for a a second.

"Yes, that's mine." he croaked,"Thank you. What's your name?"

"Lily Evans. What's yours?"

"James Potter." He replied, unconsciously ruffling his hair to try and make it more messy. It didn't really need it.

Remus almost heard wedding bells. Almost.

"Nice to meet you." She replied, completely uninterested, before turning around and ignoring him.

James stared openly at the back of Lily's head.

"I. Am. In. Love." He whispered to Sirius.

Sirius, who had been busy measuring crushed dragon talons, gave Lily a brief once-over. He nodded appreciatively.

"Fine girl, she is." He whispered.

"Paws off." James reprimanded as he took out his cauldron.

"Whatever, man."

Remus rolled his eyes and started on the potion.

Class, in the end, became a rather explosive disaster.

Peter was abysmal at Potions. Actually, that was an understatement. He sucked. Big time.

The last thing Remus heard before it happened was James scream, "NO, Peter, that's fireweed!". There was a gooey bang. Everyone within a ten foot radius of Peter's cauldron was drenched in vile green stuff that looked like vomit.

"Everyone stay calm now! We'll have this sorted out in just a moment!" Professor Slughorn called out.

Indeed, the opposite of calm happened, students were screaming, running about and dancing in place like rabid pixies. Almost immediately, any student with botched potion on their bodies developed a rather extreme case of the chicken pox. Remus had somehow been spared from the destruction, but was now plagued with a very itchy Sirius Black, who was scratching himself all violently and jumping in place like a kangaroo on speed.

"Aagnnnn... So... Itchy..." he grunted.

"Stop scratching! You'll only make it worse." Remus scolded as he tried to rub dittany on him.

Slughorn shuffled rapidly about the classroom and cleaned up the mess quickly. In the end, half the students were sent to the hospital wing, splotchy faces lining up to file out the door. Sirius was spared by Remus's dittany and James had somehow vanished all of his own chicken pox. Peter ended up being removed from the classroom on a stretcher with so many spots he looked like a leopard.

"Yes, yes." Slughorn tittered nervously now that order had been restored, "That happens occasionally when making potions. Just a reminder, be very careful and don't ever mix fireweed with snake fangs."

James, who had been working with Peter, now had to start all over on his potion. His day had obviously taken a rather embarrassing turn for the worst and he was feeling as though he had failed in impressing the beautiful girl in front of him. Indeed, she wasn't paying any attention to him at all. She was talking to a kid in Slytherin, one Severus Snape.

James glared at Snape, fiercely jealous, and stirred his potion angrily.

"Why would she want to talk to Snape? He's nothing but a greasy-nosed git." James spat. The fire under his cauldron flared dangerously.

"Watch out." Sirius jumped to his feet and pushed James back from the flame.

"I'm sure Snape is a perfectly nice boy." Remus remarked fairly.

"Oh, come on, who would name their kid Severus? I bet his parents hate him." Sirius snickered.

Snape, it turns out, heard him say that.

"What's your problem?" He asked silkily, eyeing Sirius coldly.

"You." James hissed.

"Go to hell, Potter." Snape shook his head in a dismissive fashion and pointedly ignored him.

Remus rubbed his temples. All this stress was bad for his sinuses.


	3. He's all Pretty and Wispy and Shit

A week passed. Then two. The four of them became almost like a family. A raucous, immature, somewhat dysfunctional family. James the ringleader, a 'big brother' of sorts. Sirius was the fun uncle and Peter was the baby.

Which left Remus with the degrading title of 'mother hen' which, sadly, was accurate enough. As the only voice of reason, Remus had taken it upon himself to save their sorry asses from, well, themselves. In some far away, ignored portion of their brains, James and Sirius were glad to have him on their cases because they wouldn't last five minutes without him.

Not that they would admit it. Ever.

And so Remus went along, the ever-present stick-in-the-mud that kept them out of Azkaban. At the same he felt the presence of three bad influences slowly creeping through his supposedly impenetrable shell of maturity. Already this week he had finished a potions essay that wasn't his own, taken extra notes in class and actually giggled when James let a ferret loose in the Great Hall.

Yup. Giggled. Like a friggin' _girl_.

Okay, so _maaaaybe_ they were a bad influence on him.

_Ugnnnn_... Remus sighed inwardly. Maybe he would be better off without friends.

After all, what would he tell them when the full moon came around? Surely they would notice him missing. It was only two days away. He had to think fast.

He turned in his sheets and put the pillow over his head. The sun was up already. How could it be so bright out already? He wanted to sleep forever.

His chest hurt for some reason.

He could hear James fall out of his bed with an 'Oomph'. Remus, from under the pillow, watched Sirius put his socks on. The Black heir had bedhead that was, quite frankly, epic. Remus snorted.

"Your hair is crazy." He mumbled.

Sirius mussed it and sniffed unhappily.

"I went to bed with wet hair."

"That should be a crime." James groaned from the floor, "You look hideous."

"I think it's cool." Peter chided as he changed from his pyjamas to his robes.

"You do?" Sirius purred, looking in a mirror, "You're right. I think I'll leave it like this."

James snorted as he sat up. "Bad idea, mate."

"You'll see. Everyone will love my hair."

Remus sighed softly. His chest didn't hurt anymore.

That afternoon, the first flying lessons of the year were held in the courtyard. Now, normally that meant chaos, danger and excitement, but this time the Marauders were involved. Whoop-de-doo. Say hello to the devil incarnate, Remus thought unenthusiastically. My soul's cooked.

All four of them attended. Remus had wanted to stay behind and study but NO NO, when you roll with the Marauders, you ROLL with the Marauders. So there he was in the courtyard straddling a broomstick so uncomfortable it was ungodly and wondering whether or not he would die today. _And_ he was getting yelled at by a huge, mustached man who reminded Remus of an angry rhinoceros.

"LOOK LIVELY." roared Mr. Strapworth, their instructor (cough cough, **DRILL SARGENT**), "Flying is the most dangerous activity most of you sorry whelps will ever have the privilege of doing, so if ANYBODY is even THINKING about messing around..."

Mr. Strapworth walked right up to James and Sirius and stared them in the faces. They looked back with joyously innocent faces. Strapworth snorted.

"They will be expelled." He completed. He looked at Sirius and snorted.

"Your hair is atrocious, Black."

Remus saw Sirius deflate slightly. James ribbed him, and muttered something at Sirius that sounded like, 'I told you so.'

"Operating a broomstick," Strapworth went on, "Takes more than just strength. It takes finesse, experience and, most of all, guts. Which I'm sure none of you have." Strapworth looked pointedly at Remus and Peter when he said that.

Remus swallowed uncomfortably. He scratched at his collar and gave Sirius a shifty glance. Sirius seemed like he could care less about what Strapworth was saying. He and James were both already good at flying. Peter, on the other hand, was shaking in his boots. Remus, felling sorry for the poor boy, patted him lightly on the back.

"Buck up, Peter." He said, trying to sound more brave than he felt, "I'm sure you'll do brilliantly."

Peter nodded slowly, his teeth chattering.

"NO TALKING!" Strapworth huffed and puffed, and they all fell down.

"Now," he went on, "gently, pull up on the nose of the broomstick so you rise slowly off the ground. Hover a moment, then come right back down. Try any funny flying tricks and you'll get expelled before next Tuesday." Strapworth snarled.

Remus sighed. Tuesday was tomorrow.

"Right. One, two, three, go."

It was utter pandemonium. Students were thrown left and right as they were bucked off their brooms or steered into the ground. Frank Longbottom was pitched sideways and landed in a holly bush with a cry. Peter rose three feet and promptly fell off. Xenophillius Lovegood, a rather eccentric young boy, tried to hold a conversation with his broomstick, to no great effect. Remus, who had never flown before, carefully pulled up on the nose of his broomstick. He shot off into the sky like a bullet from a gun.

"AAAAAH!" he screamed, trying desperately to wrench the broom back towards the ground. He misguided it and began speeding towards the rather solid-looking brick wall that was the castle of Hogwarts.

"Oi!" Sirius cried out from the ground. Peter gasped and covered his eyes.

Remus's mind raced, he only had a few seconds to impact. All his frantic mind could see was a painful end. He would hit the wall like a water balloon filled with tomato soup. Yup, graphic imagery. You'd do it too if you were about to die.

James, who was practiced with brooms, acted lightning-fast. He kicked off from the ground like an old pro and matched Remus's speed, coming up from underneath. He swooped expertly into Remus, catching him around the waist and carrying him up onto the sixth floor balcony. The broom Remus had been riding crashed into the brick face and splintered. It fell to the ground,whirring.

The two of them clambered onto the ledge. Remus collapsed against the railing, winded, with his heart going a million miles an hour.

_I'm alive? _Remus thought, feeling his hair and his legs just to make sure. _I'm alive! Sweet Merlin, I made it!_

"Remus! James!" Sirius called frantically from the ground, "You all right? Talk to me!"

"Yeah!" James replied, crouching next to his friend, "You are all right, aren't you?"

Remus coughed and sputtered, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. He had bitten his tongue. "Y-yeah, I'm all right. That was brilliant."

James laughed nervously. "Yeah, it was. Just... Don't do that again, okay? You had me worried for a moment."

Remus nodded mutely, wondering where the hell he would be without friends.

***Scene Change***

James was a hero. A bloody_ saint_. The girls wanted to have him, the boys wanted to _be_ him. It wasn't enough that he had been awarded twenty house points and recommended for the Quidditch team. He was now the most popular guy in school and boy did he love it. His walk turned into a strut. He started ruffling his hair so it looked windblown and he wore the house colors like a living banner. The school lapped it up.

Sirius, of course, was riding the gravy train as well. After all, he was the rebellious Black, best friend of the talented Potter. What wasn't to love? The ladies fawned, the portraits waved at him as he walked in the halls. He was an idol.

Remus stayed blissfully in the shadows. That was just how he liked it. Fewer people who knew is name the better. After all, it was the night before the full moon. He would have to think of an excuse before dinner, or he was toast. More than toast, he would be that turkey you leave in the oven too long at Thansgiving-time that gets so burnt up you can't even chew it. That bad.

That afternoon, during free period, he made a show of packing a rucksack.

"What're you doing?" Sirius asked him, sitting heavily on Remus's bed.

"My mum's ill." he said curtly, "Dumbeldore gave me leave to go and see her."

"Is she that bad?" Peter asked, helping Remus fold his shirts.

Remus nodded. "It's not looking good." He feigned sorrow best he could, but it came off as more of a grimace.

James put his arm around him and clapped him on the back. "Buck up, mate. She'll be all right. We're here for you, no matter what. Let us know how it goes, right?"

Feeling like a hippogriff was gnawing at his liver, Remus nodded. He clasped his bag shut and shouldered it.

"I'll see you all tomorrow." he said . Sirius pulled them all into a group hug. Remus flushed and felt his eyes get a little dewy.

"We'll all miss you." Peter chirped, snuggling into Remus's coat like an affectionate puppy.

"Take care." Sirius added sincerely.

Remus nodded and choked out farewells. As he walked into the common room, past the people and the portrait hole, guilt hit him full-force. The pain in his chest was back.

The sun started to set as he walked briskly across the grounds. He walked and walked. Just keep walking, Remus. Don't think about what you just did. Don't think about what's about to happen. Don't think about anything. Just walk, 'til your lungs burn and your legs feel like jelly.

He came to the place Dumbledore had instructed him to go. The Whomping Willow.

He stared at the tree as it swayed in the gentle breeze. It seemed so innocent now. He knew if he stepped an inch closer he'd be punched off his feet.

_In a way_, Remus thought bitterly, _this tree's like me. All pretty and wispy and sh** when you look at it. But it's a bloody monster on the inside.  
><em>

Remus took out his wand and charmed a rock to fly at the knot in the tree. The branches froze. He walked through the shadow unharmed.

He came to the tunnel and clambered inside. Crouching, he ran and ran, until he was sure he had left the grounds far behind. After a good long while, he came to an rough wooden door. He took a key out of his pocket and slipped inside.

_So this is the old shack_. Remus spoke to himself. It was really nothing special. Dilapidated and dusty, the furniture was gathering cobwebs and the windows were opaque from the dust. He felt the compulsion to clean the place up a little. No, he told himself, it's better not to. Less it looked like nobody was there, the better.

Taking a few moments, Remus went about making sure all the windows and doors were secure before hiding the key in a drawer and slipping out of his clothes. The sun had set by now and the stars were out. It would only be a few minutes now. He looked down at himself and realized he felt a little stupid standing stark naked in an abandoned shack. He couldn't bring himself to laugh. He closed his eyes and waited.

***Scene Change***

"I hope Remus's mum is all right." Peter said that morning over breakfast.

James and Sirius nodded. The three of them had been unusually quiet. Something was missing from their group. Something important. Someone important.

"He'll be back tonight." Sirius said, "We'll know then."

"I miss him, the little bookworm." James gnawed at an apple halfheartedly.

"Me too." Peter moaned.

They said little else.

In the old, abandoned house, Remus was himself again. He gasped and groaned, kneeling on all fours. This transformation had been a rough one. There was a jagged cut on his cheek and another one on his abdomen. Stumbling through the wreckage of a house, Remus found his clothes and the key. He dressed shakily, trying not to get blood on his clothes.

Now came the tricky part. Sneaking into the hospital wing without anybody noticing anything odd. And without passing out.

Keeping a hand on the wall, he staggered down the tunnel, keeping a hand on the dirt wall to steady himself. After an eternity, he emerged, pressed the knot in the tree and limped up to the castle.

He snuck through the front doors and steadied his limp. He wiped a bit of blood off his cheek. Okay, Remus. Act normal, now. And hurry. Oh, Merlin, how his stomach hurt.

He walked through the blissfully empty corridors as fast as he could manage. Just as he began to think he would make it back scot-free, guess who came running up the corridor to greet him?

Yup.

Just his luck.

"Remus! You're back early!" Sirius jumped happily, tackling his bodily and landing on top of him.

"Aaugh!" Remus gave an almighty yell as Sirius knocked into his injured stomach.

"Whoa." Sirius practically fell off of him, "What the- Did I hurt you?"

Remus hid the wince from his face and hoped to whatever God there was that the blood wouldn't show through his shirt.

He force a laugh and regretted it when his abdomen burned. "Hehe... No, you just surprised me."

Peter helped Remus up. "Geez, Rem, you've been through the mill. What happened to your face?"

"That's... Ah.. I have a badly behaved rabbit, see... He kind of went after me." He lied fluidly, feeling like a toad.

"Geez, you're pale as death." James grumbled as he examined his friend's cut, "You look like you spent all night getting beaten up by a wild animal or something."

_You don't say.__  
><em>

"I'm fine, really." Remus insisted. At that moment, the blood decided it was going to rush out of his head. His head buzzed and he teetered dangerously.

"No, you're not!" Sirius scolded and slipped his arms around his waist to keep him upright. Remus wiggled ineffectively.

"Peter," James commanded, "Run and tell Madam Pomfrey. We'll bring Remus along."

Peter nodded obediently and scurried as fast as he could.

Remus shook himself and pushed Sirius away.

"That won't be necessary, I can take care of myself." Remus said as curtly as he could when he the hallway was dancing to the throbbing beat in his head.

"Please, for our sake." Sirius guided him along.

_For your sake... I would do just about anything._ He thought sadly as he was practically dragged to the hopsital wing.

Yup, he was one cooked turkey.


	4. Bouncy, Bouncy, Smashy, Smashy

**Thank you once gain to all my reviewers! I'm having a little trouble with writer's block, but I've got a few chapters written out and I'll be updating new ones each Friday. Once again, if you have anything you want to see the Marauders do, tell me and maybe it'll help me figure out where I can take the story. Thanks!**

By an amazing stroke of luck (and thanks to Madam Pomfrey's privacy curtains), Remus's lycanthropic status was kept under wraps. Still, he spent the next few days looking like an absolute train wreck, and his friends were beside themselves. Sirius tried to force-feed him at all hours of the day. Peter carried books, cleaned and did favors. James nicked Pepper-Up potion from Slughorn, much to Remus's chagrin.

All the same, he recovered double-time.

Just as well, because the teachers were piling on the homework. Now that they were in the swing of things, all four Marauders began coming into their own as the most talented kids in school.

Not that it did any favors to their egos. And by 'they', I mean James and Sirius.

Every night, they would crowd around the fire in the common room, monopolizing the best comfy chairs and copying each other's notes. They practiced spells with one another after all the other students went to bed. Bored with their normal curriculum, Remus had borrowed a book on advanced spellwork from the library and they were happily wrecking havoc through the Common Room.

Sirius had taken the book and was flipping eagerly through the pages.

"Hmmm... _Oppugno!_" he cried, pointing his wand at the book. The book jumped out of his hands and flew towards Remus, snarling like a wild animal. Remus ducked as the crazed tome almost took his nose off.

"AAUGH! Umph... Gaaah!" Remus yelped, "Jaaaames, help me!"

"No, I don't think I will." James snickered as Remus rolled under a table.

Remus pointed his wand at Sirius and muttered, "_Tarantellegra!"_

Sirius immediately began dancing about uncontrollably.

"Wheeeee..." he said, jigging into a couch and falling over with an 'Ooof'.

"I'm getting bored of this." James said after a while of watching Sirius flail about helplessly on the floor. "I want to go for a walk."

"We can't. It's after-hours." Remus stated, still under the table. The spell was wearing off and the book had given up trying to kill him and was chewing affectionately on his shoe.

"I know..." James replied distractedly and performed the countercurse on his mate.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Whew, thanks, man. That was getting painful."

Remus put the book in his bag and sat cross-legged on the floor, charming his quill so it floated back and forth across the rug. "What's so special about going out after-hours anyway? I mean, we can always look around during the day at free period."

"That's not the point." Sirius chided as he rubbed his sore knees, "It's the danger, the adventure."

"The seeing the side of Hogwarts nobody else sees." James finished.

"Filch would gut you both alive." replied Remus sternly.

"Only if we get caught." Peter added.

"Not you too." Remus admonished. Peter looked a little guilty.

"Well, I suppose it is a bad idea." he admitted.

"Who cares?" Sirius roared, jumping up. "I wanna go."

Remus snorted and shook his head sadly

"You're all insane." he said, getting up and starting to walk towards the dormitories.

"You mean... you're coming, right?" Sirius asked.

Remus turned around to give his friend a good talking-to, but felt his resolve waver when he saw his friend pouting and shooting him his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Pretty please?"

Stupid Sirius, with his stupid hair and stupid cute puppy-dog eyes. Stupid, convincing puppy-dog eyes.

Remus couldn't believe he was about to do this.

He sighed. "All right, I'm coming. But only to keep you three from killing yourselves." He added when his friends exploded with glee.

"If we get expelled I'm never forgiving you." Remus went on.

"No worries, mate." James drawled, "I'll go get my cloak."

So, there they were, the four of them, all stuffed underneath the cloak like sardines in a can. It wasn't very comfortable to say the least. They were all sweating a little, and Peter smelled like old socks.

"Really, Pete, ever heard of a shower?" James groaned.

"The water falls on top of you as if it's just appearing out of nowhere." Peter squeaked nervously.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"So where are we?" he asked Sirius.

"Third floor. We're coming up on that statue of Grumpus the Troll-fighter, remember?"

"Oh yeah. You know, someone really ought to make a map of this place."

"Maybe we should." James put out.

"How could we possibly?" Peter piped up, "Hogwarts is huge."

"Dunno." Sirius grumbled.

"Maybe someday." said James.

"Where do you want to go now?" Sirius asked as they reached the statue.

"How about... The Restricted Section of the library?" Remus suggested, almost not believing he was saying those words.

Sirius blinked at him. "Wow, Remus, you're going soft."

Remus harrumphed.

"Nah... Some other time." James replied, "I say we sneak into McGonagall's office."

"Hell yeah." Sirius purred.

"What if she's there?" Remus asked nervously, "I don't think it's a good idea."

"You worry too much, Remus." Sirius shoved Remus's shoulder lightly.

So off they went, sneaking along the corridor, traversing the great, shifting staircases and ducking underneath flowing tapestries in the hallways. Remus started feeling a little chilly. He eyed a suit of armor nervously and felt like it knew they were there.

"Let's get this over with." he hissed to his friends, "Something doesn't feel right."

"It's just your imagination, Remus, nobody's here." Sirius dismissed lightly.

Remus watched all around them. One of the perks of being a werewolf (and believe me, there aren't that many) is a good set of instincts. Just in case, he took out his wand.

A crashing noise came from somewhere to their right. They all jumped. Remus whirled and pointed his wand at the noise.

It was Peeves.

Oh, bugger.

"Bouncy, bouncy, flouncy, flouncy." Peeves chortled in a sing-song voice as he ping-ponged off the walls, tossing a Fanged Frisbee down the corridor. It was coming right towards them. Remus, thinking fast, pushed them all behind the frame of a large portrait of a one-eyed giant. The frisbee chomped the air where they had just been before crashing into a glass sculpture. It shattered brilliantly. Peeves clapped his hands delightfully.

"Smashy, smashy, crashy, crashy." he went on.

They were all breathing hard.

"That was too close." He hissed at his friends as Peeves went along his merry way.

"Pity 'bout the sculpture." James muttered. The bits of glass twitched feebly on the floor.

"_Reparo_." Remus whispered. The broken pieces of glass flew back together. The sculpture waved at him happily and tipped it's hat.

"Let's move." James said, breaking the short silence. The four of them scuttled along the hallway as fast as they could without tripping over their own feet.

Following their wits, they made their way through the castle, searching for McGonagall's office. The ended up spending a full fifteen minutes trying to force their way through a door that, turns out, was a solid wall just pretending.

Only at Hogwarts.

Finally, it was around two in the morning. Remus was falling asleep on his feet.

"Can we go back? I can't stay awake much longer." he yawned.

"Stay with me, buddy, we're almost there, I'm sure of it." James replied, picking up the pace a little. Remus stumbled and bumped his nose on Sirius's shoulder.

"Mmph." he sighed, not moving his face. He closed his eyes and tried to nap while walking.

Sirius was suddenly glad it was dark out.

"We made it!" James said suddenly.

Sirius jumped a little, knocking Remus off his back. Peter scrambled forward for a better look.

The words 'Professor McGonagall' were carved into the door.

"Yes!" Sirius pumped his fist, "How do we get in?"

"Who's there?" The door called out to them, "I don't see anyone."

"Try turning the knob, go on." James suggested. Sirius reached out to turn the knob, but it stretched out and slapped his hand.

"Ouch!" he cried, nursing his hand. "That hurt!"

"You're not Professor McGonagall. Go away." the door chirped, and was still.

"Hey! Um, we're her friends. Can you let us in?" James tried feebly.

The door was silent.

"Aaugh!" Sirius kicked the door. The door kicked him back.

"Aaaiii!" Sirius yelled, hopping on one foot.

"Quiet! Someone'll hear us!" Remus hissed.

Too late.

_Mrrreow._

They whipped around in the cloak. It was Filch's cat. Mr. Tibbles.

Remus felt Peter start to shake next to him.

Mr. Tibbles was stalking closer to them, sniffing the ground and lashing his tail back and forth like a tiger. Suddenly, the cat froze and lifted his head. He had caught their scent.

_Mrrrrr..._ the cat growled, turning away to find Filch.

Oh, but Sirius was having none of that.

"Incendio!" he cried, pointing his wand at the cat.

_MRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!_

"Sirius! You just set the bleeding cat on fire!" James doubled over laughing.

"Oh, good Lord, I hope that he is all right." Said Remus sadly, covering his eyes.

"Come on, all I did was singe him. He'll be fine." replied Sirius proudly, "You know he deserved it."

"Yeah, you're probably right." James agreed. Every student hated Filch's cat.

"We have to go back to the Common Room _now_." Remus said, ushering his friends in the direction of the Fat Lady's portrait. They ran back, gasping out the password and clambering through the portrait hole. They threw off the cloak and fell to the floor, laughing and trying their best to catch their breath.

The next morning, Dumbledore stood up at breakfast and announced that Mr. Tibbles was retiring from his post as Filch's assistant and would be living out the rest of his days on a comfortable pillow in his master's office. What he failed to mention was that the early retirement was due to the fact that the poor cat's behind was as hairless as a baboon's. As he finished his morning speech, Remus could've sworn he saw Dumbledore's piercing eyes look their way and dance a little merrily.

Oh, Dumbledore knew. Dumbledore knew everything. And he thought it was a right good laugh, too.


	5. The Ultimate Wedgie Curse

**Update a day early! I hope you're all enjoying the story, I'm working hard on it. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed. All suggestions welcome. This chapter might seem like filler, but it is important to the story. Enjoy!**

Halloween was rolling around. Remus had already completed his second transformation at Hogwarts. His excuse this time was that he had been pushed into the Vanishing Cabinet by Peeves. It was a lame excuse, and he could tell they were slightly suspicious of him. After all, he had still returned to school looking like death incarnate. But, it was three more weeks until he would have to worry about that again. Halloween was tonight and there was a feast being held in the Great Hall.

And students were required to make costumes.

Sirius lay on his belly, rocking his legs back and forth lazily. He watched Remus pour through his clothes.

"What're you going as?" He asked him.

"Cat." Remus replied simply.

Sirius scoffed. "Oh, come on, that's boring."

"Oh yeah? What're you going as?"

"As an Emo-Gothic-Electric-Guitar-Rocker-Dude in Leather Pants."

Remus blinked.

"You mean like the muggle band, K.I.S.S.?"

Sirius stared blankly. "Who're they?"

"Look them up."

Remus took an old hat out of his trunk and charmed it so it had cat ears. He put it on his head.

"How do I look?"

"Positively feline. Though, it'd be better with a tail."

Remus took out a tie and tucked the end into his waistband. He wiggled his hips a little, feeling sassy.

"How's that?"

"Much better."

James ran into the dorm room, an impressive black cape fanning out behind him. His face had been painted white. He grinned at them, showing long white fangs.

Sirius yelped and fell off the bed.

"What did you do to your teeth?" he called from the floor.

"I lengthened them. Aren't they great?" James asked, lisping a little.

"You can put them back, right?" Remus asked.

James froze, then laughed nervously.

"I'll figure it out." he didn't sound very sure of himself.

Remus sat himself in front of the mirror hanging next to James's bed and drew whiskers on his face. Sirius sat next to him and took out a box.

"Doing your makeup?" Remus ribbed him.

"Shut up. This stuff is manly." Sirius replied proudly, slathering something white all over his face.

"How did you get that anyway?"

"Nicked it from Lestrange."

"... Wow."

"I know."

"Do you know what Peter is going as?" Remus changed the subject.

Speak of the devil.

Peter waddled into the room wearing a colorful clown suit and a big red button nose. He fixed his hat nervously.

"Do I look okay?" he asked.

"Absolutely spiffing." James sniggered.

Fashionably late, the Marauders burst into the Great Hall ten minutes after the feast had started, in full costume. Students craned their necks to look at them. Sirius looked absolutely freakish covered in eyeliner and he was, indeed, in tight eather pants. James the Vampire held his head high and waved politely at a giggling group of Ravenclaws.

"Evening, ladies." he crooned. They blushed and looked away.

"Evans." James purred, leaning on the table next to where his beloved Lily was sitting, dressed as an elf, "Looking very lovely tonight, I must say."

"I wish I could say the same to you." she replied coldly.

_Ouch..._ Remus thought.

"Do you feel threatened by my imposing figure and fine teeth?" James whipped his cape about boldly.

"No, put off by the makeup and ghastly hairdo." She replied smoothly, looking pointedly away, "Shove off, Potter."

James shuffled back to his friends, ego somewhat deflated.

"She'll come around." Sirius clapped his buddy on the back.

Remus cast his eyes around the Great Hall. There were floating jack-o-lanterns above his head, carven eyes flickering from the candles within. Real, wispy cobwebs draped from the rafters, contrasting the ceiling that mimicked the starry night sky. The usual ghosts gliding about over their heads added to the mystique.

_This is the most magical Halloween I've ever had. _he thought contentedly as he dug into into the roast chicken and pumpkin bread.

"So..." James said after a good long time of everybody stuffing their faces, "I was thinking... We ought to play a Halloween prank."

Sirius grinned like the Cheshire Cat, his mouth full of mashed potatoes. "Oooh, I like it. What did you have in mind?"

"You know Snape, right?"

Remus, Peter and Sirius nodded. 'Course they knew Snape. How could they not?

"I say we make an idiot out of him." James chuckled evilly.

Remus rolled his eyes. He knew James only hated Snape because he was jealous of his friendship with Lily.

"Couldn't we just toilet paper the teacher's lounge or something?" He put out hopefully.

"That's a good idea." James admitted, "For some other time."

"What do you want to do to Snape?" Remus asked warily.

"Know any good hexes?" James asked.

"Bat-Bogey?" Sirius suggested.

"Too simple."

"Knee-Reversal?" Peter chimed in.

"Not embarrassing enough."

"What about the Ultimate Wedgie Curse?" Sirius asked.

James smiled like his birthday came early.

"Perfect." he purred.

"Couldn't we just lengthen his nose or something?" Remus groaned, "Wedgie curses really hurt."

"Who cares? He deserves it." Sirius snickered.

Remus sighed heavily.

"I'm having no part in this." he said firmly, taking his plate of cake and walking out of the hall, his makeshift tail swaying proudly behind him.

Sirius watched him go. James saw the odd expression on his friend's face.

"He'll come around to the dark side someday." said James.

"Yeah." Sirius sounded distracted.

"So how are we going to do this?" Peter asked conspiratorially.

Well, nobody was quite sure how it happened. One minute, Snape was standing calmly next Lily as she ate, talking to her about classes and such. The next moment, he was dancing around like a lunatic, clutching his rear and screaming like a banshee as his underwear tried to strangle him. The Hall exploded with jeering and pointing. Lily shrieked and waved her wand around, trying to reverse the hex.

Remus, who was sitting alone in a nearby hallway eating his cake, heard the uproar and felt suddenly sad.

Snape glared at the Gryffindor table, clutching his rear and turning red. He saw James and Sirius snickering and knew exactly who had pulled off the spell. And he was not about to take it lying down.

And so began the great rivalry.


	6. Loosen up a bit, Remmy!

**Hehe, I'm on a roll! Please review.**

November passed in the blink of an eye. The first snow fell the day before Thanksgiving, which was, coincidentally, a full moon. Remus, unable to believe his luck, said his family was having a holiday dinner and skipped out of school easily. He had just enough time for a quick snowball fight before he had to 'catch the train home'. He stumbled into the Shrieking Shack flustered and laughing, almost not caring he was a werewolf.

December was rough. Three feet of snow fell, confining the students to the castle. And the castle, turns out, had a heating problem. The corridors were as cold as the air outside. Students ran from class to class just to keep warm. Flitwick was nice and showed all the first years how to conjure up a gentle blue fire within a jar that they could keep tucked in their robes. Transfiguration, however, was brutal as ever. Today, they were turning shoes into slippers.

"Concentrate!" McGonagall called out across the classroom, "Visualize the transformation happening in your head!"

Remus screwed his eyes shut and murmured the spell, pointing his wand at the shoe on the table. It twitched, whirred and shrunk a few sizes.

James's shoe had gone all furry, but still had a sole and laces. Peter's shoe was making whistling noises. Sirius's shoe had, of course, caught fire.

Remus dropped his wand and rubbed his hands together briskly, his fingers numb. Sirius had abandoned all attempts at putting out the fire and was warming his palms against the blaze.

"Black! Extinguish that flame at once!" McGonagall snapped. "Ten points from Gryffindor!"

Sirius, mumbling, made a small jet of water come out of his wand. The fire sizzled out. All that was left of the shoe was melted rubber and ashes.

"Can I have another shoe, Professor?" he asked.

"All you're going to get is a failing grade." she growled.

Sirius cursed lightly and brushed the ashes off his desk.

"I'm bloody awful at Transfiguration." Sirius complained in the hall afterwards. Remus and James had both managed neat slippers. Even Peter had turned his shoe pink.

"You'll get the hang of it." James consoled. "We'll practice in the common room tonight."

"Hey, are you guys staying here at Hogwarts for the holidays?" Peter asked, "I am."

"Me too." Said James.

"I'm staying." Sirius replied, "No point in going home. My parents hate me."

"What about you, Remus?"

Remus quickly counted up the days in his head. There would be a full moon the day after Christmas. He couldn't stay, he just couldn't.

"I'm staying too." his mouth said of it's own accord.

Stupid mouth.

"Excellent! It'll be just the four of us!" said Peter.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Sirius exclaimed, "We can sleep all day and sneak out every night!"

Remus sighed, trying his best to regret his decision. He couldn't quite manage it.

Next week, all the students packed their bags and boarded the Hogwarts Express. Remus sat tight in his room and waited until the last footstep had faded away behind the portrait hole, before racing down the stairs and into the Common Room. The only people in it were James, Sirius and Peter.

"Woohoo!" James cheered, "Freedooooom!"

He chest-bumped Sirius.

"What're we going to do first?" Peter exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Exploding Snap!" Sirius roared.

Remus had an idea. "Let's go to the kitchens."

James looked at him like he had grown an extra head.

"You're actually suggesting we go somewhere we're not supposed to be?" he gaped.

"It's not like there's actually a _rule_ saying we can't go there." Remus had a sly look on his face. Sirius grinned like a maniac.

"I knew you'd come around!" Remus fell to the floor as he was bear-hugged explosively.

"Mmmph... Gerrof..." Remus struggled in vain.

"Sirius, stop molesting Remus." James said lazily, eyeing the two of them as though they were an interesting television show.

"I don't wanna!" he called back, hugging Remus tighter.

"Black!" Remus snapped breathlessly, "You hug me any tighter and I'll wet myself. I'm not kidding."

Sirius jumped up as though electrocuted.

"To the kitchens we go, then." Sirius said quickly.

***Time Skip***

"Why have we never done this?" James was grinning ear to ear as he was sat down by three exuberant house-elves and offered plate after plate of candy.

Sirius, who had never particularly liked house-elves, smiled grudgingly. "Thanks." he said to a small elf that had just shoved an entire apple pie into his lap.

"We are delighted to have you!" One of the younger elves said, "Nobody ever visits us!"

"Anything for you, Master Lupin?" asked an elderly, wispy-looking elf with a hairdo that reminded Remus of one Albert Einstein.

"Got any chocolate?" Remus asked Einstein-elf, "Not too much, just a snack, please."

"CHOCOLATE!" the elf called out to his friends, "BRING ME CHOCOLATE!"

The elves came charging back like a herd of deranged buffalo, dumping platters and boxes of chocolates all around him. They were cheering like football fans.

"That's enough, that's enough." Remus said hastily. The pile was up to his ankles. "Thanks you."

"Our pleasure, Master Lupin!" they chorused.

"Please, call me Remus." he chided.

"Yes, Master Remus!"

Remus did a face-palm.

"You going to eat those?" Sirius asked him slyly, reaching a hand out to take some of Remus's candy.

"No you don't! This is my food pile! Get your own!" Remus slapped Sirius's hand. Sirius looked pained.

"Hey, that hurt."

"Go away." Remus began hastily stuffing his robes full of chocolates.

Sirius floated away.

"Like chocolate much?" James asked Remus. His mouth was so full he could hardly chew.

"Yes, I have a soft spot for it. Close your mouth when you chew, you look like a cow."

"Shaddup." James cuffed him on the ear. He looked around nervously. "Where's Peter?"

Peter, it turns out, was being force-fed cake. And thoroughly enjoying it.

Remus saw James whisper something into the ear of one of the elves. The elf nodded furiously and shuffled into a back room. It came back with a brown paper bag that looked very heavy. James took it and thanked him.

"What've you got there?" Sirius asked, trying to peer into the bag. James snatched it away.

"You'll see." James snickered.

They made their way back up to the Common Room, where they unloaded their booty and began their own little midnight feast.

"Merlin, this cake is good." Peter mumbled, having already demolished a third of it.

Remus popped a chocolate into his mouth and moaned appreciatively. God, how long had it been since he had really good chocolate? Too long, too long.

"So what's in the bag, James?" Sirius asked, sneaking a bar of chocolate behind Remus's back.

James laughed evilly and pulled out a bottle of Odgen's finest.

Remus almost choked on his chocolate.

_You've got to be kidding me._

"Alcohol? That's illegal!" He admonished.

"Oooh, can I have a taste?" Peter clamored, jumping all around James.

"We'll all have some!" James roared. He pulled the cork off and took a loooong drink.

"Hey, leave some for the rest of us!" Sirius took the bottle from him.

Remus spluttered like a whale, waving his hands around furiously. "This is awful! It's wrong, it's horrible, it's disgusting!"

"This stuff's _amazing_." Sirius giggled, taking a swig. "Try some, Remmy, maybe it'll loosen you up a bit."

Remus almost gagged. "No! I'm not going to have any! You'll get expelled, the three of you!"

"Oh, come on, nobody's gonna know." Peter dismissed, taking a drink and coughing furiously as the alcohol burned in his throat. James and Sirius laughed, clapping him on the back.

Remus looked from Peter to Sirius to James, not knowing who to yell at.

"Aaaauuugh." he groaned, taking his chocolate and stomping up to the dorm.

Remus sat heavily on the bed, gnawing on a chocolate bar. Why did his friends have to be lawbreaking imbeciles? They would be the death of him someday. How could he let this happen? He really should march on down to McGonagall's and rat them out. He tried to get the courage up, but found it completely impossible. He sighed heavily and hit his pillow. He was an idiot. Really, he was.

He sat up there on his bed and tried to catch up on homework. He took out a piece of parchment and tried his best to write. He scribbled a few paragraphs down before he started hearing raucous laughter coming from the Common Room. Deep beneath the shell of his professionalism, the demon on his left shoulder was telling him to go back downstairs and join the fun.

_Come on, Remus, a few sips won't do you any harm. _

Shut up, demonic voice.

_Do you really want to sit up here alone? All the fun is downstairs._

I said shut up!

_You'll be able to watch them get drunk and blackmail them about it later._

Hmmm... Now you're talking.

Remus skipped down the stairs and peered nervously into the Common Room.

"Never have I ever..." James began, swaying a little on his feet, "Nicked anything important from somebody I know."

Sirius took a drink.

"What'd you take?" James asked

"Lestrange's makeup, remember?" Sirius replied.

"How'd that go?" Peter asked.

"Threw a dungbomb at her, then took it out of her bag when she wasn't looking."

"That takes guts, man." James slurred, obviously the most drunk.

"Tell me about it." Sirius grumbled. "My turn. Never have I ever... mentally undressed anyone."

James sighed and took a drink.

"Who'd you undress? Evans?"

James turned pink.

"Haha! I knew it!"

"What're you doing?" Remus asked them.

"Remmish!" James sniggled (a cross between a snicker and a giggle), "There y'are"

"Shut up, I'm just watching." Remus pushed James's arm off his shoulder.

"S'all right by me." James took a huge drink. He shook the bottle a little. It was empty.

"James! That was the last of the alcohol!" Peter complained.

"_Refillio!"_ said James, pointing his wand in the bottle. The bottle whistled and cracked and stayed conspicuously empty.

"Aw, man." he groaned.

Remus clapped a hand to his forehead. That wasn't even a spell!

"C'mon, James, let me have some!" Sirius took the bottle away from him.

"Mmmm." James hummed noncommittally and fell over backwards onto the couch, where he whirred a little.

Sirius moaned unhappily when he realized the bottle was empty. He threw it into the fireplace.

"Remmy!" Sirius slung an arm around Remus's neck, "S' just you'n me now."

"Hey, I'm still here!" Peter snapped, still rather sober.

"You don't count." Sirius pointed at Peter rather rudely. Peter huffed and crossed his arms.

"Get off me, you smell awful." scolded Remus. He took Sirius by the shoulders and pushed him onto a chair.

"You stay there and sleep it off." he instructed.

"But Remmy, I wanna sleep in _our _room." Sirius whined. Remus sniffed haughtily.

"You will do no such thing. I don't want you crawling in my bed in the middle of the night and trying to feel me up."

Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Heeey, maybe I will."

"_Stupefy!_" Remus cried out. Sirius slumped against the chair.

Peter gaped. "You just stunned Sirius!"

Remus snorted. "He deserved it. Come on, Peter, let's leave them to their drunken stupors."

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but instead grabbed a discarded paper bag and started retching into it.

Remus looked away and shook his head. Peter would be sleeping down here too.


	7. Never get on a broom with James Potter

**Sorry this one is a bit late, I was held up. Enjoy, and please please please review!**

Remus stood over his three sleeping friends that morning, a wooden spoon in one hand and a frying pan in the other. Oooh, it was fun to be evil sometimes.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Peter fell of the table and onto the floor with an almighty thump. James cried out and covered his ears. Sirius didn't wake up.

"STOP IT! STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!" James yelled at him. Remus snickered.

"Rise and shine, me hearties. Breakfast awaits!"

"Oohhh, don't even make me think about food." Peter groaned from the floor.

"Stop talking so loud." James grumbled, putting a pillow over his head and going fetal on the couch.

Remus walked over to Sirius and muttered '_Ennervate_'. Sirius smacked his lips lazily and opened one eye.

"What happened?" he asked, "Why'd you stun me?"

"You got drunk and threatened to do X-rated things to me in my sleep." Remus replied matter-of-factly.

"Did I?" Sirius sounded mildly surprised. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's all right. I don't think you would've done it." Remus dismissed.

"How do you know that?" Sirius mumbled with just a hint of a grin on his face. Remus pointed his wand at him.

"Pushing it."

"Sorry."

Remus went about tidying the room while his friends came to terms with their hung-over state. James moved a little.

"I'm never going to drink again." he mumbled.

"Me neither." replied Peter.

"I'm not even going to say 'I told you so'." Remus tutted.

"Merlin, stop talking!" James rubbed his temples.

Remus left that morning and fetched breakfast for his three invalids. Not that they ate much. Afternoon rolled around and having slept the whole day through, they felt much better.

"So," Remus began when his fellow Gryffindors were once again conscious. "You do realize you slept through Christmas morning, don't you?"

James jumped up. "You're kididing, right? It's Christmas?"

"Mhmm." Remus hummed.

"Presents! Woohoo!" Sirius called out, racing James up to the dorms.

Remus followed and found James enthusiastically digging into his present pile like a crazed chihuahua. Sirius picked up the biggest present and shook it.

"Awesooome!" James cheered, holding up a book on advanced Quidditch tactics, "Thanks, Sirius! Go on, open mine."

Sirius did and uncovered a box full of Cauldron Cakes. They were Sirius's favorite.

"Woooommmmphhhh." Sirius articulated as he stuffed as many Cauldron Cakes as he could into his mouth.

Peter had received a homework organizer from his parents and a magical gumball machine from James, Sirius and Remus. Sirius hadn't gotten anything from his parents. ("Trying to disown me, they are.") James got new Quidditch gear from his family. Remus didn't get much, just a few books from his mother and father. He looked expectantly for a present from his friends, but was disappointed to find that there was none.

He looked around at his friends awkwardly, not wanting to mention the lack of gifts but feeling desperately hurt. It's all right, Remus, he told himself, Maybe they just forgot or something.

Forget to give your best friend a Christmas present. Yeah, right.

"Oi, Remus, what's wrong?" James asked him, seeing the blank look on Remus's face.

"Nothing. Everything's fine. Everything's just dandy. In fact, I can't remember a time when I was this happy before. I mean, look, I got books from my parents. Books, books books. Wheee. Books." he babbled rapidly.

Sirius snickered. "So, you realized we didn't get you anything, right?"

Remus opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and said, "Ehhh... Yeah. I mean," he added quickly, "It's all right you didn't get me anything. I'm fine with it, really. It's not like, you know, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME OR ANYTHING!"

"Calm down!" Peter patted him on the back, "We got you something."

"Oh!" Remus said, feigning surprise, "I get it. It's invisible. And you can't touch it, hear it, smell it or taste it. Very nice. Useful."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you well, you know." Sirius grumbled.

"I can be as sarcastic as I like!" Remus snapped, "You got me a nonexistent present!"

James cackled.

"Chill out, Remus. Come on, we'll take you to your present."

Remus blinked. "Wait... You actually got me something?"

"Blimey, Remus, you actually thought we wouldn't get you anything." Sirius nudged him.

Remus blushed. "Well... Yeah."

Peter snickered and tossed Remus his warmest cloak. "Dress up. It's cold outside."

So there they were trudging across the snow-covered lawn with James wiped their tracks behind them. It was a warm day for winter but Remus's nose was already turning red. He looked up at the sun. It was setting behind the castle and coloring the sky brilliant colors.

He looked at Sirius next to him. His breath was misting.

Peter started running ahead. Remus saw where they were going, did a double take, did _another_ double-take, checked again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then laughed like a lunatic.

"No." he said, "No no nonononono. Really, guys?"

He had been led to the broom shed.

Peter swung open the door and bowed them in.

"Yes really." James replied regally, sweeping him indoors.

Remus was surprised how cozy the broom shed was. It was dry and warm and buzzed a little with magic. The brooms lay still on racks, school brooms on one side and student's brooms on the other. It smelled dusty-sweet, like straw and wood.

"Take your pick." Sirius motioned to the school's brooms.

"Are you kidding? Last time I picked one of those up I almost died. Have you forgotten?"

"Course not." replied James, "But how could we leave it at that? Nobody should go through their lives not knowing how to fly a broom."

Remus sighed in an exasparated fashion, slowly backing out the door. "My gran did and she's just fine."

"Get back here!" Sirius took him by the arm and pulled him in, "You're not leaving until you've had a jolly good time."

"You'll do great, Remus!" Peter encouraged, "We won't let anything bad happen to you. I even brought a first aid kit, look!"

He took a blue box out of his bag.

"Way to be supportive, Pete." James mumbled. "I'll ride with you, Remus. Go on, pick a broom."

"It's bad manners to refuse a present, you know." reminded Sirius.

Remus covered his face with his hands. He was going to regret this. He just knew it.

"Okay... I choose this one." He picked up a broom from the shelf at random.

"No, no." James admonished, pushing the broom back onto the rack, "That one's a DragonFire 58, horrible design. Vibrates at altitudes higher than 50 yards."

Remus nodded slowly. "How about this one?"

"No!" Sirius took the broom out of Remus's hands and put it on the rack, way out of reach. "The twigs were all bent the wrong way."

Remus sighed. "Do you two want to pick the broom out for me?"

"Yes!" They said quickly.

"Go ahead."

They jumped at the task with gusto.

"How about a Cleansweep, they're a good broom?"

"No, the handle's all messed up on that side, look. Here's a Rocket 69."

"Merlin no, that's the one I rode for flying lessons and it pulls left like you wouldn't believe."

They went through broom after broom, handing the discarded ones to Peter. Peter squeaked, trying to keep from dropping his armload.

"Aha! A Silver Arrow! These were discontinued last year. Good brooms, they are." James handed it to Remus.

"Here, Pete and I'll take the Comet 14." said Sirius.

Pete yelped. "Wait, you said my name. Why'd you say my name? I don't want to go! I want to stay here where the ground is!"

"Too bad, Pete, Remus is being a good sport, you've got to show some courage too." Sirius ruffled his hair. Peter looked like someone had hit him on the head with a frying pan.

"Flying... Up high... Sitting on a stick..." He almost fainted.

They went outside. James and Remus on one broom, Sirius and Peter on the other. Remus was in front holding onto the handle, white-knuckled.

"You are going to have the ride of your life." James snickered.

Oh no. That was the voice. That voice meant...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

James was good at flying. And when I mean good, I mean he could thread a needle at a hundred miles an hour while juggling good. However, he was a little thing called an 'adrenaline junkie' and it only took Remus a few seconds to realize he was on the wrong broom.

"Aiiiiiiii!" Remus screeched like Bellatrix on speed as James dove to within, literally, a few inches of the ground and pulled back up for a spectacular loop.

"James!" Sirius scolded, going about three miles an hour because Peter was so terrified he had almost wet himself, "Go easy on him, will you?"

"Fine!" James slowed down and started going an easy pace.

"LAND! LAND, YOU IMBECILE!" Remus was hysterical, yelling right in James's ear. "LET ME OOOOOOFF!"

James tried to ignore him, but after a few minutes he got a headache, so he obliged.

"Killjoy." mumbled he as he let the poor frazzled boy off his broom.

"Aaaauuugh." Remus articulated as he fell facedown in the snow.

Sirius smacked the back of James's head. "You almost killed him!"

"Oh, come on, he's fine."

"Whrrrrr." suggested Remus.

"You're going with me!" Sirius demanded, yanking Remus out of the snow and pulling him onto his broom. Too dazed to object, Remus didn't even realize what was happening until he was, once again, thirty feet off the ground.

"Wha..." he started, flailing a little.

"Hey." Sirius murmured, "Stop moving, you're throwing the broom off."

Remus forced himself to relax a little. He looked around. The view was nice from up here. It was like being an eagle, floating effortlessly along above the lawns, the trees and the lake. He laughed a little nervously.

"See? This isn't so bad." encouraged Sirius.

"Hehe... Yeah."

"You try directing the broom now. Don't worry, I'll help."

Remus gripped the handle and started easing it up. He was pulled into a gentle ascent.

"Good. Now try going left. Go on, aim for the Astronomy tower."

Remus did and was surprised to find how easy it was to maneuver the broomstick when he wasn't terrified. He leaned forward the the broom picked up speed. The wind was rushing now.

"I'll race you to the Quidditch pitch!" James called over the noise. Peter was on the broom with him, and strangely enough, he actually looked like he was having a good time despite himself.

"Bring it on, bitch." Remus sniggered.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!"

Abandoning all pretense, Remus gunned the broom forward as fast as it could go and aimed for the tall bleachers off in the distance. He laughed but couldn't hear himself. Sirius was the scared one now, holding onto Remus's waist as tight as he could. James and Peter were in the lead now.

"Oh no you don't!" Remus mumbled and gave it all he had. They were neck and neck as they flew over the tall towers and raced for the ground. It was a game of chicken.

The ground got closer and closer. Remus tried to hold out, but the desire to live overcame his manly confidence. He pulled up and slowed down.

James didn't slow down. He was going to hit the ground.

"Oi!" Sirius cried out to James, "Pull up!"

James, instead of landing his broom like a normal person, opted for the highly dangerous jump-from-it-while-you're-still-going-a-hundred-miles-an-hour route.

Holding on tight to Peter, James rolled from his broom and hit the ground shoulder-first. He rolled head-over-heels for several yards, before coming to a stop at the foot of the goal posts.

James held his broom up, victorious and whooping like a madman.

"Yeeeees!" he cheered.

Peter sat up, swaying dangerously.

"How did you do that?" Sirius jumped from his broom and chest-bumped his friend, "That was the most awesome thing I've ever seen!"

"I don't know how I did it!" James roared. Remus just hovered above their heads and laughed with them.

Remus had a lot of Christmases after that. He got a lot of presents through the years and did a lot of fun things. But when he thought about the most fun he had ever had in his life, he would always think about that Christmas, when he was eleven years old, and remember how easy and fun and carefree he was. It didn't matter that he was a werewolf, or that he was colder than an arctic blizzard and his heart was beating like a drum. He was happy, they were all happy. And it felt right.


	8. Remmy's a WHAT!

**Short chapter, but important. Enjoy! R&R**

"Ugnnnn." James moaned.

Turns out, jumping from a broom while it was going fifty miles an hour was a _really bad idea_.

James curled up in the fetal position as Sirius came and sat with him.

"You really that sore?"

"Like I got run over by a hippogriff."

"Nothing's broken." Remus assured him, "You're just one big bruise."

"I feel great." Peter chirped cheerfully, bouncing next to James's bed, completely unharmed, "You must've sheltered me with your body when we hit the ground."

"Bloody martyr, I am." murmured James.

"Here, take this. You'll feel better." Remus held out a potion he had made himself. James took it eagerly and downed it like a shot. He winced.

"Tastes like goblin boogies." he growled. He coughed a little, then rubbed his arms.

"That's better." he sighed.

Last night, Remus had almost missed the full moon. When the four of them were heading back to the common room, he remembered that he only had about ten minutes before he transformed. Frantically, he excused himself, saying he needed to go to the bathroom _really really bad_, and ran off before anyone could say a word. He had reached the shack just as his eyes changed from amber to yellow.

The rest of the Marauders, of course, had been in a frenzy. When Remus hadn't returned, then had searched the castle for him all night. They stumbled back into the common room at five in the morning, puzzled and frightened.

"Sweet Merlin, I hope he's all right." Sirius growled, throwing the cloak off.

"He's always disappearing." James kicked a chair, "Bloody little git."

They went up to the dorms and started to change.

Sirius sighed and looked out the window sadly. His stomach felt all funny and his mind wouldn't settle down even though he was tired. He saw the brilliant full moon hanging over the lake and sighed again.

"Beautiful night." he remarked.

James looked over his shoulder at his friend.

"Yeah." Peter looked too, "Full moon, isn't it?"

James, who was slipping a shirt over his head, gave an almighty cry and fell over.

"What's up with you?" asked Sirius.

"Full moon!" James detangled himself from his shirt. "It was a full moon last time Remus was missing!"

"Holy sh**! And the time before that!" Sirius yelled, catching on.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Peter.

"Do you really think...?" James asked Sirius.

"How else can you explain it? I mean, come on, a _thanksgiving holiday?_ How thick are we?"

"But really... It's Remus!"

"I bloody know that!"

"How could he not tell us?"

"What is going on?" Peter yelled at them.

James and Sirius froze for a moment, then collapsed into hysterical laughter.

"Oh... my... God! This is... so... AWESOME!" James roared, trying to breathe properly.

"What is so awesome?" Peter whined, kicking James's bedpost.

"Remus is a werewolf!" Sirius clarified.

Peter's mouth made a perfect 'O', and he sat down heavily on his bed.

"Wow. I never would've guessed." He admitted.

"Course _you_ wouldn't have, Pete." Sirius slighted, sniggering.

Peter 'harrumphed' and crossed his arms.

"Oh, Merlin, we are going to have so much fun with this!" James whooped.

"I know!" Sirius rubbed his hands together delightedly.

"How?" Peter sidled up to James.

"Listen up, now, here's what we do..."

Back to the present. James was enjoying his newfound mobility. Remus put the cap on the potion and slipped it in his bag for another time. And believe me, with the Marauders, there was _always_ another time.

"So, Rem," Sirius began, making eye contact with James, "What happened to you last night?"

Remus was immediately uncomfortable. I mean, what could he say?

"Uh... Well, I went to the bathroom." he began lamely, "And then I kind of just walked around. You know, Hogwarts is beautiful at night."

It was a pathetic excuse. And really, had his friends not known about his lycanthropic situation, they would've been extremely sceptical. But, because they were now in on the whole shebang, they happily went along with it.

"It really is!" James agreed, sitting down on Remus's other side. "Just... next time tell us, kay? You know, we heard this animal running around outside and it was making all these horrible howling and screeching noises. We were worried about you. Thought it might've gotten you, you know?"

Remus blanched, then started stuttering. "Y-yeah, hehe... heh..."

"You know, I think what was out on the grounds might've been a werewolf." Sirius added, "It was a full moon, you know."

Remus felt the blood run out of his brain and tried his best not to pass out.

"Yeah, Remmy, it's a horrible idea to be out there alone at a full moon." James went on.

"Might get bitten." Peter added.

"WELL, I DIDN'T." Remus roared, jumping up, "I'mgonnagoeatbreakfastgoodbye."

Remus practically ran out of the dorm and almost fell down the stairs. If he had actually stopped to think about it, he would've realized that his friends had figured out his secret. And maybe a small part of him knew they had. But logic hit that small part of him over the head and stuffed it into the darkest broom closet of his mind. No. If they knew, they would shun him, hate him, ignore him, and that would be the end of it. And he didn't want to think about that.


	9. The One Where Sirius Makes a Move

**Yay, two chappies in one day!  
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**Second to last chapter! It's a nice long one, and I worked very hard on it. Please let me know if you like it. Also, I'm thinking about doing a sequel. Three sequels, in fact. One for third year, fifth year and seventh year. But I'll only do it if I think enough people would want to read it, so if you want sequels, REVIEW AND TELL ME!**

"RRRAAAUUUGH!"

"AAAAAIIIIIII!"

James and Sirius ninja-rolled behind a statue as spells flashed over their shoulders. James fell awkwardly on top of Sirius and knocked the wind out of him.

"Mmmrrrhhh, gerrof!"

Another set of curses hit the stone beside them, making it crack and flake. Sirius stuck his wand out from behind the old lady's hump and yelled '_Impedimentia!'_

Severus Snape dodged the hex and instead threw a fallen brick at Sirius's head. Sirius ducked just in time and retaliated with a facial-inflation spell. Snape fell backwards, his nose puffing up like a balloon.

"Where's Remus when you need him?" James grumbled and tried to do a Bat-Bogey hex on Lucius Malfoy.

Malfoy did a complicated wand movement and James felt as though somebody had electrocuted him. He called out and doubled over. Sirius swore and pulled him back behind the rock.

"Damn, James, talk to me..."

Remus and Peter, it turns out, were having troubles of their own. They were being chased by one Bellatrix Lestrange.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" she laughed maniacally, whipping her wand from side to side. Remus blocked spell after spell as Peter ducked behind his back to shelter from the barrage.

"Pettigrew! Help me!" Remus admonished.

"La lalala la laaaaaaaa..." Bellatrix tittered as she danced about.

Peter shivered and pointed his wand at Bellatrix behind Lupin's back.

"_Stupefy!_" he cried.

The spell missed by a hair, punching a neat hole in Lestrange's robes. Bellatrix looked at the rip in her robes and grinned at Peter like a rabid honey-badger.

"Ooooh, baby Peter's out to play, is he?"

"I'm not a baby!" said Peter, not sounding very brave.

"Then show her, Pete." Remus hissed at him, trying to egg his friend on. It seemed to work. Peter fired off a few more spells and pushed Remus a little closer to Lestrange.

The two opposing teams circled each other in the corridor, spells exploding like fireworks. It was like a dangerous, deadly dance. One wrong step and they were finished. Bellatrix renewed her attack, forcing them into a wall. Remus groaned as a particularly strong blocked spell sent a jolt up his arm. He couldn't hold out much longer.

Out of desperation he and Peter ducked behind a suit of armor. A few curses hit the wall next to them. Remus panted heavily and pressed the back of his head into the wall. He felt a sting on his arm and knew he was hurt. He looked at Peter and saw that he wasn't much better.

He opened his eyes and looked at the suit of armor in front of him.

"Help me!" he called out to it, feeling a little delerious.

He heard Bellatrix laugh. "Getting weak, are we?" she purred, coming into point-blank range. She pointed her wand at Remus's chest.

To Remus's surprise, the suit of armor took a step towards Bellatrix.

Bellatrix looked at it.

It looked at her.

_Wham._

Lestrange fell to the ground, having just been hit on the head by the hilt of a sword.

Remus just stared.

Their knight in shining armor motioned for them to run.

Remus was very happy to comply. He took Peter by the wrist and dragged him to the staircases.

"Wait, what about James and Sirius?" Peter asked him as they ran.

"They can take care of themselves." Remus quipped.

It turns out, James and Sirius _couldn't_ take care of themselves.

"James... James... JAMES!"

James, who had apparently been electrocuted by Malfoy, was curled on the floor in a fetal position. Sirius cursed and punched the stone statue next to him. He winced when it hurt.

"_Incendio!_" He cried, aiming and Lucius. Luck was with him, for though Malfoy doged the spell, his long mane of pristine golden hair caught a few of the sparks. Sirius spared a few seconds to feel satisfied at the way Malfoy was dancing about frantically.

"Aaaugh! My hair, my beautiful hair!"

Having sucessfully _Aquamenti_'d his hair, Lucius sent a particularly nasty curse right at Sirius. It hit the wall behind him and the bricks exploded, showering him with dust and debris.

_Not much time now..._ Sirius said to himself as Severus Snape tried to hex him and he blocked it_, Got to get out of here... But all the exits are blocked... Damn..._

"Hnnn..." He groaned, pressing his head into the rock. "I need to get out of here."

He opened his eyes and noticed words carved into the back of the statue, so small he almost missed them.

The message said, _Descendio_.

_Descendio, eh? Worth a shot._ Sirius said to himself. He pointed his wand at the old lady's hump and whispered '_Descendio_'.

There was a grinding noise and a hole opened up.

_Hehe... Ten points to me..._

Checking to make sure Snape and Malfoy weren't looking, he dragged James through the hole and it sealed up neatly behind them.

"_Stupe-_" Snape yelled, stopping in mid-spell when he realized his targets had disappeared.

"What the heck happened?" asked Malfoy, "They just vanished!"

"What is all this racket?"

Professor McGonagall strode, hawklike, down the corridor to them and surveyed the train wreck that had once been the Charms corridor.

"My office! Now!"

Sirius sat tight in the hidden passage. He waited until the footsteps, and McGonagall's shouting, had faded to silence before he chanced a glance into the disheveled hallway. It was empty. He pulled his invalid friend out of the tunnel and shook him.

"James... Wake up..."

James moaned and twitched a little, not waking up. Sirius cursed again and heaved James onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You owe me for this, pal." He mumbled and began the long process of carrying James to the hospital wing.

Sirius was surpised to find Remus and Peter already there.

"Lestrange get you?" He asked Remus.

"Yeah. Reductor Curse to the wall, some shrapnel hit my arm. How'd you fare?"

"Oh, just dandy. Set fire to Malfoy's hair, gave Snape an even odder shape for a nose and discovered a hidden passage."

"Good day's work?"

"You bet."

James, turns out, wouldn't be awake any time soon. So Sirius, Remus and Peter (who, by the way, had an impressive black eye) went up to the dinner alone.

It was a full moon that night. Remus said he was going to spend the night in the hospital wing, making sure the Slytherins didn't try and kill James in his sleep. Sirius and Peter, who knew Remus's real reason for sneaking out, let him go scot-free.

And so, it was just Sirius and Peter in the Common Room that night.

"I hope Remmy's all right." Peter sighed, curling like a cat in an arm chair.

Sirius hummed distractedly as he stared at the fireplace.

"I wonder what it's like being a werewolf." Peter went on, "Do you think it hurts?"

"I've heard it does." replied Sirius, still not looking at Peter.

"Geez, I feel so sorry for him. Do you think we could help him?"

Sirius snorted. "How? There's no cure for it, you know that."

"I know..." Peter sighed.

Sirius watched the flames dance.

"Is there any way we could be there with him?" Peter asked, "You know, keep him company and stuff."

Sirius didn't answer right away.

"I don't know." he finally said, "I don't think so. But it's something to think about, you know. Maybe there's a spell that'll keep us safe."

"Maybe."

They didn't talk much more. They went to bed that night feeling rather empty with the two vacant beds in the room.

The next morning after breakfast, Sirius and Peter went to visit comatose James. They had a good deal of fun drawing a mustache on his face when Madame Pomfrey wasn't looking. They waited there for a long while, half expecting Remus to show up for his usual post-moon checkup. He didn't arrive on time.

"Remus should've been here an hour ago." Peter remarked.

"I know. I hope he's all right." Sirius lamented as he shuffled the deck of playing cards and redelt for another game of war.

Another two hours passed and Sirius was getting seriously (no pun intended) worried.

"He's never been this late before." he grumbled, shoving the chessboard towards Peter. The pieces on it swayed dangerously and shook their tiny fists at him.

"He'll turn up." Peter tried to reassure him.

"I'm going to find him!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping up and storming out the door. Peter, tittering anxiously, followed him like a well-trained puppy. Madame Pomfrey, who had been trying to get rid of them for an hour, sighed inwardly and set to work scrubbing the mustache off James's face.

"Peter! Go get the invisibility cloak from James's trunk and meet me by the Great Hall." He ordered as he stormed down the corridor.

"Yes, Sirius." replied Peter obediently and he rushed off.

Sirius raced as fast as he could to the Headmaster's tower, praying he would be able to figure out the password. However, luck was with him today. He found the Headmaster sweeping gracefully down the stairs on the third floor.

"Dumbledore!" Sirius practically jumped on him.

"Yes, Mister Black?" asked Dumbledore serenely.

"Remus!" Sirius cried out, "Where's Remus?"

Dumbledore hesitated for the slightest second.

"Mister Lupin has his own business to attend to. He will be back shortly." He replied smoothly and attempted to continue sweeping gracefully down the stairs. Sirius blocked him.

"No!" he stamped his foot childishly. Dumbledore gave him a look. Sirius compsed himself and tried again.

"I mean, _where is Remus_?" he asked.

Dumbledore looked at him with those strange blue eyes and got the point.

"He has not returned yet?" he asked.

"No. He should've been here two hours ago." Sirius fretted.

Dumbledore sighed.

"Sirius Black, you are full of surprises." he sighed, "Very well. Go to the base of the Whomping Willow. You should find him soon enough."

"Thanks!" Sirius said quickly and started to run off.

"Mister Black." Dumbledore said and Sirius stopped.

"Yes?"

"If you and your friends ever attempt to approach Mister Lupin during his transformations, then I shall be forced to expell you. Is that clear?"

Sirius stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please refrain from using incendiary curses when dueling. Mister Malfoy is beside himself."

Sirius had to stop himself from laughing. "Yes, sir. I will."

At the time, he meant what he said sincerely. However, times change. People change. Situations change. And some things cannot be stopped by mere fear of expulsion.

***Time Skip***

Sirius and Peter trudged through the three feet of snow under the invisibilty cloak, wiping their tracks as they went. They stopped at the Whomping Willow and stared at it. Remus was nowhere in sight.

"Stupid Dumbly old coot." Sirius mumbled bitterly, "He's not here!"

Peter sat down in the snow and took out a jam jar. He pointed his wand into the top and conjured a gentle flame. He closed the top and set it beside him.

"Come on, Sirius. Let's wait."

Sirius crossed his arms and continued griping about wrinkly old men with beards who lied.

Deep in the hole, Remus was having a rough time of it.

It had been a violent transformation. He wasn't hurt too deeply, but somehow he was covered in blood that wasn't his own, and the wolf had ripped all his robes to shreds. Remus had spent several hours frantically searching through the Shack for what he had killed, feeling sick to his stomach. He was relieved when he found a few freshly dead rats stored neatly underneath the bed.

That was too close. For a minute he had thought...

No. He didn't think that. He didn't ever want to think that.

Wearing only a pair of scuffed boxers and shivering uncontrollably, he shuffled down the tunnel feeling like a miserable monster which, in a way, he was.

Hours late, he peered out of the Whomping Willow's roots and saw nobody. He pressed the knot and walked out of the tree, hoping to God that nobody was watching.

"REMUS!"

Sirius burst out from under the invisibility cloak and rugby-tackled Remus into the snow.

"Wha... What the..."

Peter had the cloak wrapped around his shoulders for warmth. This, unfortunately, gave the appearance of his head floating in mid-air. Remus coughed a little.

"Geez, do you always look like this after a full moon?" Sirius pulled Remus up and dusted the snow off him, "You look ghastly. Aren't you cold? Here, take my cloak."

Remus gulped and sputtered like a fish out of water and just stood there as Sirius took off his outer robes and draped them over Remus's shoulders. Peter set to work wiping the blood off Remus's front with a wet hankercheif.

Sirius sighed. "You're pale as death." He took Remus's hands and started rubbing them briskly, trying to warm him up.

Remus stopped even trying to talk. He just stood there and accepted their help. He couldn't bring himself to believe this was happening. They had figured out he was a werewolf? Why hadn't they pushed him off the Astronomy Tower already?

Peter took the cloak and flung it over the three of them.

"Wait, Peter, you run up to the Hospital Wing and alert Madame Pomfrey. I'll come along with Remus."

Peter nodded and squeezed carefully from under the cloak and bounced through the snow to the castle.

Sirius had taken Peter's hankercheif and was wiping the blood off Remus's face. Remus stared up at him with a look that could only be described as wonder. Sirius smiled sadly at him and rubbed a bit of grime off his cheek.

"Good Lord, aren't you cold? You're cold, right?" Sirius asked, taking Remus by the shoulders.

Remus felt himself nod.

Sirius pulled his friend up next to him and hugged him close. Remus shivered heavily, then sighed, still watching Sirius. Sirius looked at him back and felt something weird shift in his stomach. He felt as though there was an invisible force, pulling his face closer to Remus's, until...

It took Sirius a moment to realize what he had just done. His eyes widened and started to stutter.

"I... Ah... Uhhh..."

Remus's head was buzzing. He reached up and lightly touched his fingers to his mouth, where Sirius had kissed him. He looked back at Sirius, trying to read the expression on his face. Sirius took a shaky breath and spoke.

"You know I care about you, right?"

Remus didn't know what to think, say or do. So, he just stayed where he was, and realized he was comforted by the whole affair. He nodded his response, snuggled closer to Sirius and shivered again.

Maybe they were both too young to truly realize the magnitude of what had just happened. But it had happened, and it had felt right, so neither of them did anything about it. In the end, they never really talked about that moment, there wasn't really a need to. So, they walked back up to the castle with nobody the wiser.

James, it turns out, was wide awake when they arrived.

"Where the hell were you?" James grumbled, his arms crossed. "I woke up here alone, then Peter came in and hardly payed any attention to me at all. You'd better have a good excuse!"

Sirius ignored him and pushed Remus onto a bed.

"Stay!" he ordered. Remus didn't try to move.

"Hey! You're not paying attention to me!" James whined as Sirius strode right past him.

"Shut up, you great prat." Sirius snapped, "I've got things to do."

James looked very affronted, crossed his arms again and harrumphed.

"They're here!" Peter appeared with Madame Pomfrey. She was carrying various potions and bandages in her arms. Peter was stumbling along, holding a slew of blankets.

"Oh, so Remus comes in here all bloody and flustered and everybody pays attention to him while I sit here alone and ignored. I mean come on people, I'm a freakin' medical marvel after what that Malfoy did to me. People should be bowing to me in the streets." James mumbled quietly. Nobody cared.

Yup. Things were back to normal.

**Okay, so that was my first kissing scene... well, ever. Constructive criticism welcome, but please be supportive!**


	10. It's Only Just Begun

It was a great last day of school.

James, Sirius and Remus all aced their Exams. Peter managed to pass with good grades. Hufflepuff won the House Championship (I mean, come on, Hufflepuff?). However, Slytherin came in last, so everybody was happy in the end. The feast was decadent, the atmosphere delightful, and the end-of-the-year prank went off without a hitch. What was this end-of-the-year prank, you might ask?

They toilet-papered the teacher's lounge.

Best of all, since the school year had technically ended, they couldn't lose any house points.

_In your face_, McGonagall.

The train ride home was eventful, to say the least. Snape spiked their candy and they all ended up with green scaly skin. James and Sirius took full advantage of the situation and scared the pants off anybody who happened to walk by their compartment and ended up having a frickin' good time. Snape was not amused.

Remus managed to give them human skin again just as the train rolled into Platform 9 and 3/4. The switched out of their school robes at the last minute and pulled their trunks out of the rack. They pushed their way through the throng and stepped out onto the platform. They paused there for a moment, not knowing what to say to each other. The train's engine rumbled, the crowd chattered and laughed, owls hooted and cats meowed.

"I don't want it to end." Peter said after a long moment of silence between them.

James smiled in a funny way. "Well, Peter, this isn't the end, you know? It's only the beginning."

"Write me over the summer." Sirius said quickly, "All three of you. My parents are going to be ghastly to me. They can't stand that I'm in Gryffindor."

"I promise." James said, giving Sirius a hug. "I have to go, I see my parents."

"See you in September." Peter said, joining the hug.

Remus didn't say anything. He just stood there. There he was, with the only three friends he'd ever had. And he wasn't going to see them all season. He almost felt like he was grieving.

James noticed.

"Hey." he grumbled, "Buck up, Moony. Don't let your furry little problem get you down."

Remus's head shot up. Moony? Nobody had called him that before. Hehe. Moony. He liked it.

"Bye, guys!" Peter called as he was dragged through the crowd by a portly looking woman with a bonnet on.

James said last goodbyes and went to join his family. Sirius and Remus stood there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes, with the people rushing around them. Sirius felt the urge to kiss him again.

He didn't do it.

"Visit me?" Remus asked after a pause.

"Of course. We'll all go hang out at James's house. His family's got money, you know. They'll be able to feed the four of us."

"I'm going to miss you." Remus said weakly, looking down.

Sirius sighed heavily. "I'm going to miss you too."

He hugged him.

Sirius felt Remus's breath hitch a little and was startled.

"Are you crying?"

"No. No." Remus said, distracted, "Just got something in my eye."

"Heh...Right."

Feeling somewhat buzzed, Sirius stepped back and clapped Remus awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Hang in there, 'kay?"

"You too."

And they walked away. Remus resisted the urge to look back at Sirius, knowing that if he did he would start bawling like a baby in the middle of the platform.

He caught up with his parents and hugged them, kissed them, told them how much he had missed them. He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. As they led him off the platform, he did, indeed, look back. He saw Sirius shoving his brother, Regulus, like only a brother would. He saw Peter being fussed over, and James boasting to his parents. And his eyes did get a little wet. But it was a happy sort of crying. After all, James was right.

This was only just the beginning of it all.

**And it is, in fact, only the beginning. The next book will take place in third year, and while I have a good idea of what will happen, I need ideas. Namely ideas for pranks. What sort of mischief will the Marauders get up to two years from now? Any ideas at all, please review or PM me so I can brainstorm about it all.**

**Thanks for everything! Did you enjoy the story? If you did, please tell me so. More people respond, faster the next book will appear. Until then, happy reading.**


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